He'll tell you the same thing I will. Thor, Barnes, or a 338 Powerbelt Platinum if you want to shoot PB's. I'm a mod on his forum, and sometimes we hunt together. We think alike.
Lots of options if you want to shoot heavy lead conicals, but if you can shoot sabots. Try the 290gr Barnes. A pretty proven bullet that will take an elk easily.
I have the TC Pro Hunter and shoot 150 grains Pyrodex pellets pushing a 300 grain TC shockwave sabot. My normal group with open sights off a bench rest is around 2".
Killed this buck at 110 yards.
Killed this bull at 170 yards. He walked 10 feet and tipped over.
I tried different loads with different sabots and was unable to get anything on paper let alone group up. I have not tried loose powder...............yet. I am going to try the Thor bullets just to see how they compare to what I got going on now. I just dont feel the need to mess with anything right now since the current load killed 2 in 2 shots. Was unimpressed on how the bullet mushroomed on the elk though.
He'll tell you the same thing I will. Thor, Barnes, or a 338 Powerbelt Platinum if you want to shoot PB's. I'm a mod on his forum, and sometimes we hunt together. We think alike.
Lots of options if you want to shoot heavy lead conicals, but if you can shoot sabots. Try the 290gr Barnes. A pretty proven bullet that will take an elk easily.
They'll both work ok, but the 300gr will give you a little extra hitting power if you hit a bone.
The only negative about Thor's is they can be a bit finicky getting the right fit. The Barnes sabot is the same bullet, and it's much easier to get a good tight fit.
I assume you know Barnes makes Thor's, and I doubt you can get any 300gr Thors this time of year. He was out the last time I heard.
old hunter is correct on the conical info he has given for elk
I much prefer the thor as its solid copper and expands greatly and leaves huge holes in the game they hit. They can be bore size picky at times, old cva's Pre 2008 are often small in bore size and thors wont fit them, same with the traditions sidelock guns.
The best bet, let me know what gun you have, the ignition type " 209 - #11 ect" what caliber and the powder you plan on using. This is the easiest way for me to help get you started without confusing you with a try this or that list. If youre hunting colorado, I'll give you that info on what to use to stay legal and if you hunt other places where sabots are legal, i'll get you set up in that department as well.
He said he can use sabots in his state. That's why I think the Barnes is a good choice. I doubt he can get Thors now. What do you think? Isn't Terry out of them?
old hunter is correct on the conical info he has given for elk
I much prefer the thor as its solid copper and expands greatly and leaves huge holes in the game they hit. They can be bore size picky at times, old cva's Pre 2008 are often small in bore size and thors wont fit them, same with the traditions sidelock guns.
The best bet, let me know what gun you have, the ignition type " 209 - #11 ect" what caliber and the powder you plan on using. This is the easiest way for me to help get you started without confusing you with a try this or that list. If youre hunting colorado, I'll give you that info on what to use to stay legal and if you hunt other places where sabots are legal, i'll get you set up in that department as well.
I have a t/c pro hunter xt Im shooting win 209 shotgun primers an thinking about changing over to bh209 after shooting up my t7 powder I have shot muzzleloaders for years just new to the open sights an full bore hunting in Colorado I will get some thors later this year an try them out next spring an work a load that shoots best Thanks for the info
He said he can use sabots in his state. That's why I think the Barnes is a good choice. I doubt he can get Thors now. What do you think? Isn't Terry out of them?
OP I have the same problem with the Thor's. I could get the first one in with a little pressure. Then the next I would have to pound on the ram rod in order to get it down the barrel. I am also concerned about a follow up shot with them. I would have to buy a new breech plug to use BH209 in my CVA Accura V2. I have been talking to a bunch of people and I am starting to think I may just go with the PB. They load great even after 20 shots and are really accurate in my ML. A few of my buddies I have talked to said they have been using PB since they came out and have never had a problem with them. Do you really need expansion on a bullet that is already a .50 cal? I know it prob helps, but most rifle bullets don't even open that much.
I will make another trip out with the Thor's and see if I can figure something out. Would like to use them, but not if it means that I can't get a follow up shot if need be.
OP I have the same problem with the Thor's. I could get the first one in with a little pressure. Then the next I would have to pound on the ram rod in order to get it down the barrel. I am also concerned about a follow up shot with them. I would have to buy a new breech plug to use BH209 in my CVA Accura V2. I have been talking to a bunch of people and I am starting to think I may just go with the PB. They load great even after 20 shots and are really accurate in my ML. A few of my buddies I have talked to said they have been using PB since they came out and have never had a problem with them. Do you really need expansion on a bullet that is already a .50 cal? I know it prob helps, but most rifle bullets don't even open that much.
I will make another trip out with the Thor's and see if I can figure something out. Would like to use them, but not if it means that I can't get a follow up shot if need be.
Have you tried T7 or Kleene bore primers? I guess these primers may eliminate or at least decrease the "crud ring" left behind from using T7 powder. Maybe a second or third load would go down easier using these? I'm gonna give it a try since I have T7 powder left. I got the smaller .501 in the mail today. Hopefully the smaller diameter bullet will be enough to get in a second load without swabbing? Will see... I also wanna try the BH209 as well.
Expansion is not the problem with Powerbelts. Over expansion is the problem. Just don't push them too fast, and they work fine if you match the bullet weight to the animal.
I thought about it. I am using the .501 because the .500 I could basically push it in lightly with my finger and it would drop by itself. The .501 I am using were not bad starting out with the first one and showed rifling marks on the side. The .500 showed no sings of rifling.
I thought about it. I am using the .501 because the .500 I could basically push it in lightly with my finger and it would drop by itself. The .501 I am using were not bad starting out with the first one and showed rifling marks on the side. The .500 showed no sings of rifling.
In my experience the sample pack was pretty useless. If you've only tried the sample pack bullet and not the a actual bullets they sell you might be surprised to find the smaller one fits tight enough???
In my experience the sample pack was pretty useless. If you've only tried the sample pack bullet and not the a actual bullets they sell you might be surprised to find the smaller one fits tight enough???
Yeah only problem with that is then I would have to dump another $85 for more ML bullets. I don't know why they would give you a sample pack and have them be different sizes? Not saying that your wrong just doesn't make sense to me.
Yeah only problem with that is then I would have to dump another $85 for more ML bullets. I don't know why they would give you a sample pack and have them be different sizes? Not saying that your wrong just doesn't make sense to me.
I'm not sure either? Maybe it was a fluke thing for me and doesn't happen to others? Another option, and one I'm considering if I can't get it figured out is to use the Thor as your first shot bullet then have some powerbelts in your speed loaders that will load easy with the fouled barrel for a follow up shot if needed. Of course the powerbelt would have to have a similar poi. Hopefully one shot will do...
Sadly, the Thors don't always run true to size. Terry is very aware of this, and is trying to get tighter tolerances when he sizes them. If you buy some, and they don't fit. He'll exchange them for another size.
Here's another problem. Muzzleloaders don't have straight barrels. Out of the 7 CVA inlines I owned in the past, only one of them had a perfectly straight bore. I could start a Thor easily by hand at the muzzle, and it pushed down with perfect even pressure all the way down to the powder. Surprisingly it was the cheaper Wolf that had the good barrel. Three Accuras, two Optimas, and one other Wolf all had a loose spot as the bullet approached the powder. I also had a Knight that had a straight bore. I never had a TC that was straight. Even the sidelocks, but those got a PRB, so it didn't matter.
Guys aren't aware of this, because they use bullets like Powerbelts and sabots they take up the changing dimensions of the bore. When you use a bullet like the Thor that's copper and doesn't give much like lead does. You need a perfect fit with a perfect bore. Not easy to get.
It's a pet peeve on mine. When I push a bullet down the bore. I want to feel the same pressure all the way down. If I don't. At some point the gun will be sold.
I'm just into traditional sidelocks now shooting a PRB, so the problem has disappeared for me. The patch will take up any slack, but I still prefer to feel a steady pressure loading. Yes, i'm picky.
